In the beginning of 2019, just under 95% of Icelanders aged 16-74 had read online news in the past three months. During the same period, 84.3% had listened to music via the internet (through web-radio of streaming) while 62.4% had uploaded personal content (images, texts, music, etc.) to a website. In the beginning of 2018, 89.7% of the nation had watched internet-streamed TV channels or videos and 28.1% had played or downloaded video games during the previous three months.
The use of the internet for cultural purposes differs by several demographic factors. For instance, proportionally more people in the capital area watch internet-streamed TV channels or videos (92%) compared with people living outside the capital region (85.4%). People with a tertiary education also use the internet more for cultural purposes than those with primary or secondary education and in 2019 91.1% of those with tertiary education had listened to music via the internet and 97.8% had read online news compared with 77.3% and 89.1% of people with primary education.
Additionally, men generally use the internet more for cultural purposes than women, while a higher percentage of women upload their own content to websites. Some exceptions are found when looking at different age groups and sex. For instance, 64.8% of men and 24.4% of women aged 16-24 years had played or downloaded games in 2018 compared with 16.7% of women and 6.8% of men aged 55-74 years.
Icelanders use the internet more for cultural purposes than other Europeans
Icelanders use of the internet for cultural purposes was among the highest in Europe in 2019. According to numbers from Eurostat the percentage of Icelanders is highest for all cultural activities, except for playing or downloading games. Icelanders’ online purchasing of cultural products and services were also above the European average.
About the data
The results are based on the survey of household and individual’s use of internet and communication technology which is a cross-sectional survey where 2,500 households are sampled on a yearly basis. The survey is conducted over the entire European Statistical system in a harmonized manner. The response rate for the survey was 64% in 2017, 63% in 2018 and 56% in 2019. The survey was not conducted in Iceland in 2015 and 2016.